Improvement in machines for welding the ends of tubes



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. 1.. IDE. MACHINE FOR WELDING THE ENDS OF TUBES. No.172,443.

Patented Jan.18,1876.

N. PETERS. PHOTO LITNOGRAPHEfl, WASHINGTON. D C.

3 Shasta-Sheet 2..

A. L. IDE.

ELDING THE ENDS OF TUBES.

MACHINE FUR W No.1'72,%4:3.

?a.tented Jan.18,1876.-

3 Shee tsS."heet 3.

A. L. IDE. MACHINE FOR WELDING THE ENDS 0F TU No.172,%4:3. Patented. J8,1876.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIG.

ALBERT L. IDE, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR WELDING THE ENDS OF TUBES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,443, dated January18, 1876; application filed December 2, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT L. Inn, of Springfield, in the county ofSangamon and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Apparatus for WeldingPipe; and do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimprovedapparatus as arranged for use. Fig. 2 is across-section of thesame upon line w 00 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are like views upon line'ww of said Fig. 1, and show, respectively, the clamping-jaws for holdingthe tube in position, opened and closed. Fig. 5. is a like view of saidapparatus upon line 2 z of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a central longitudinalsection of the same upon a vertical line. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation ofthe head end of the apparatus, a portion of the frame being broken away,so as to show the inclined lug employed for operating the clampingjawlever. Fig. Sis a perspective view of the die employed for closing theends of tubes. Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the same, and Fig. 10 is acentral section upon a line passing from front to rear.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

In the construction of steam-radiators in which vertical tubes areemployed itis necessary that the upper end of each tube should beclosed, and in order to render the same permanent, and to cause saidclosed end to present a sightly appearance, it has been customary toweld the same in a semi-spherical is hereinafter specified. It consists,further, in the. peculiar construction of the die employed for drawingand welding the tube ends, substantially as and for the purposehereinafter shown. It consists, further, in the means employed forsupporting the tubes, and. for moving the same longitudinally toward orfrom the revolving die, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafterset forth. It consists, finally, in the means employed for automatically confining the tubes in position upon the carriage when moved towardthe revolving die, and for releasing said tubes when moved in anopposite direction, substantially as and for the purpose hereinaftershown and described.

In the annexed drawings, A represents the bed or frame of my machine,which has a rectangular shape in plan view, is open beneath, as seen inFig. 2, is provided with a central longitudinal opening, a, that hasparallel sides, and is suitably supported upon, and by means of, fourlegs, B and B. Journaled within suitable bearings O and G, at one end ofthe frame A, is a spindle, D, which is provided between i said bearingswith a belt-pulley, E, and at its forward end has a chuck, F, that isconstruct ed with an axial circular cavity, f, which opens to the front,and has parallel sides. between, and sliding upon, the ways a and a,lwhich form the edges of the central parallel opening a, are two blocks,G and G, which Fitted loosely embrace the upper, lower, and inner sidesof said ways, and are capable of being moved lengthwise of the same. Around bar, H, rigidly attached to the front block G, passesthrough acorresponding opening in the rear block, and is secured in place withinthe latter by means of a set-screw, It, said bar,

thus constructed and connected with saidrespond with the size and shapeof the tube are moved apart.

I to be contained 5 but as it is required that said tube shall be firmlyheld in place, and prevented from turning within said carriage, thefollowing-described clamping mechanism is provided: Two bars, K and K,which have the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, are pivoted upon the rearside of the forward head G, in such position as to cause their upperends to be moved together, and confine between the same the tube Iwhenever their lower ends Upon the bar H, between the lower ends of thejaws K and K, is journaled a cam, L, which is provided-with twosemicircular projections, l and l, that, when said cam is partiallyrotated in one direction, bear against and press said jaws apart, asseen in Fig. 4, while by rotating said cam in an, opposite directionsaideulargements are removed from engagement with said jaws, and thelatter are permitted to assume the position shown in Fig. 3, so as torelease the tube I from engagement. A spring, 70, attached to,

and extending between, the lower ends of said jaws, causes the latter tobe automatically returned to their normal position whenever released bysaid cam.

The cam L is automaticallyoperated so as to close the jaws K and Kwhenever the carriage moves forward by means of a lever, M, which isattached to its rear face, and extends transversely across the machine,with its forward end in contact with an inclined lug, N, that is securedupon the inner side of the frame, while from the rear end of said leveris suspended aweight, m. As the carriage moves forward, the end of thelever M, in contact with the inclined lug N, is permitted to rise, whilethe weight m, upon the rear end of said lever, depresses said end, andcauses the cam L to rotate and close the jaws K and K, as shown in Fig.3. When the carriage is moved rearward, the lever M is returned to theposition shown in Fig. 4, by means of the inclined lug N, upon which theforward end of said lever bears. Longitudinally the tube I is held inposition upon the carriage by I means of a head, 0, that surrounds andis secured upon the bar H, and projects upward sufficiently to enable itto receive the rear end of said tube. Said head, being confined inposition upon said rod by means of a setscrew, 0, can readily beadjusted forward, or to the rear, in order to accommodate tubes ofdifferent lengths. The rearward motion of the carriage is limited bymeans of a set-screw, I P, which passes horizontally inward through therear end of the frame, and receives upon its inner end the rear end ofthe bar'H. The carriage is moved upon its ways by means of a shaft, Q,that is journaled horizontally and transversely within the frame A,beneath the inner bearing 0, and is provided upon its outer end with ahand-wheel, R, and upon its inner portion, midway between the sidesyofsaid frame, withva crank-arm, S, to which latter is pivoted one end of abar, T, that from thence ward toward the next corrugation. axial centerof the recess U a small opening,

extends rearward, and at its opposite end is pivoted to or upon thefront end of the bar H.

As thus arranged, it will be seen that by turning the shaft Q in aforward direction, the crank-arm S, which, as seen-in Fig. 6, extendsupward, will cause the carriage to be moved toward the head of theframe, while, by reversing the motion of said shaft, said carriage willbe moved rearward.

Fitted into the axial recess f, at the inner end of the spindle F, is adie, U, (shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10,) which, at its outer side, isprovided with a recess, U, that has, in crosssection, a circular form,and in longitudinal section is semi-spherical. Within the recess U areformed a series of corrugations, u. and a, which extend from-tits bottomand axial center, outward and forward, in a spiral form, whiletransversely each corrugation is highest at its rear edge, and fromthence slopes for- From the a, communicates with a recess, U, that isformed within the rear side of the die U, which latter recesscommunicates with the open air through a radial opening, f,in thespindle F.

The operation of the machine thus constructed is as follows: The spindlebeing caused to rotate at about eight hundred revolutions per minute,the carriage is moved to its rear limit, and a tube, having its forwardend, heated to the welding-point, is placed within said carriage, andthe latter moved forward until the heated end of said tube enters thecavity of the die, when, by a gentle forward pressure upon said tube,its end will be drawn together and welded so as to present the formshown in Figs. 6 and 7. The carriage may now be moved rearward, and thecompleted tube replaced by a fresh one.

The operation of the spiral ribs of the die is to compress and roundinward the open end of the tube; but experience has shown that if saiddie is solid in rear of the outer cavity, there will be an accumulationof scale and cinders at the extreme end of said tube, and the weldingwill be imperfect at such point.

The axial opening u obviates the difficulty named, as it furnishes avent for all cinders, scale, and surplus metal which are pressed intosaid opening in the form of a teat, and upon the removal of said teat itis found that the entire end of the tube is formed of solid perfectlywelded metal.

By the use of this machine, the capacity of a workman is increased fromtwo hundred to six hundred tubes per day, and the tube ends are uniformin shape, while but a fraction of the percentage of leaky tubes isproduced by the machine, that is unavoidable where the welding is doneby hand.

While the tube is preferably confined in position and the die caused torevolve, the operation will be as perfect if the opposite is true, theresult produced being due to the motion of one part with relation to theother, and it 3. In combination with the Ways a and a of the frame A,the tube-carriage composed of connected together by upon said ways bythe the blocks G and G, the bar H, and moved spiral corrugations u anda, a

shaft Q, hand-Wheel R, crank-arm S, and connecting-bar T, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the carriage employed for supporting the tube 1,the pivoted jaws K and K, cam-lever L, l, and l, lever M, weight m, andinclined lug N, all arranged to operate in the manner and for, thepurpose substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this8th day of November, 1875.

ALBERT L. IDE.

\Vitnesses:

F. E. WILLIAMS, J. BENNETT.

